Be prepared for downtown traffic snarls

A number of downtown streets will be closed Wednesday as Nashville hosts its annual Veterans Day Parade in the morning and the Country Music Association Awards in the evening.

According to Metro Police, the department is planning to put its standard mass transit plan in place to handle the events.

Central Precinct flex officers will be deployed to handle the road closures, which is the standard deployment for any large scale downtown event such as a Titans' game or large concert, according Kristin Mumford, a Metro Police spokeswoman.

On Wednesday from 9:30 to 10 a.m., the parade will shut down West End Avenue at 18th Avenue to Broadway at Third Avenue. The actual event starts at 11 a.m. and will run a 10-block route, from Broadway at 13th Avenue to Broadway at Third Avenue and those streets will be closed at that time. Commerce Street between Second and Fourth avenues and Third Avenue from Church Street to Gateway Boulevard will be shut down at 11 a.m. as well.

Later in the day, the CMA Awards will shut down a number of roadways in the central business district. All day the westbound lanes of Demonbreun Street between Fourth and Sixth avenues will be closed. Franklin Street from Fourth Avenue South to Sixth Avenue South will be shut off from 10 a.m. to midnight. From 3:30 p.m. until midnight Clark Place between Sixth and Seventh Avenues South, Sixth Avenue South from Peabody to Broadway, and Fifth Avenue South from Franklin Street to Broadway will all be closed.